Many who might have opted to die on their own terms in the suicide pod – without pains might have their hopes dashed after the first person to use it is strongly suspected to have been killed by strangulation by the staff.
Things might not have gone as intended for a 64-year-old American woman who was the first person to use the self-assisted dying pod in Switzerland after she was discovered dead but with fresh strangulation marks on her neck.
It happened on September 23 when a woman who had complications from a severe immune disorder for many years used its service in the presence of Dr. Florian Willet. Willet was the president of The Last Resort, the firm that operated the Suicide Pod. He was also the only person who witnessed her last actions in the pod.
It was reported that the woman was still alive over six minutes after she pressed the button that would release nitrogen gas that would fill her airtight pod, knocking her unconscious and then killing her via lack of oxygen.
“She’s still alive, Philip”, the President was heard calling to Dr. Philip Nitschke, the person who designed the suicide pod. After about 30 minutes, he said “She really looks dead”.
A forensic specialist reported that the woman had severe injuries on her neck while a local tabloid reported that “an autopsy had discovered ‘strangulation’ marks on the woman’s neck”.
The suspicion of whether the suicide pod malfunctioned and the possibility that the woman had been finished off by strangulation made the Swiss chief prosecutor Peter Sticher investigate the likelihood of “intentional homicide.”
The Swiss police immediately arrested people who were around the secluded area in a forest located in Merishausen when the incident happened. Everybody has been released except the sole witness – Willet
The Sarco Suicide Pod was created to help people suffering from untreatable health conditions as well as terminally ill patients, end their lives by themselves.